Report: True North in takeover talks

A report that France's Havas Advertising SA is in talks to buy True North Communications Inc. failed to spark a rally in True North shares, which fell more than 6% Monday.

Shares of the Chicago-based advertising agency holding company were trading at $37.69 in afternoon trading, down $2.56 from their Friday closing price.

Financial Times, citing unnamed people close to the negotiations, reported over the weekend that Havas was negotiating with True North, the parent company of FCB Worldwide and Bozell ad agency networks. True North has long been considered a takeover target, and the speculation has grown since November, when the company lost its largest client, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group.

Financial Times, which said the takeover talks were at an early stage, reported that a deal with Havas would likely value True North at or above its current market value of $2 billion.

A True North spokeswoman declined to comment and representatives of Havas were not immediately available.